Utopia

Thomas More's Utopia stands out as one of the most striking political works ever written.

Composed specifically as a response to Henry VIII's break with Rome, the book meditates on the perfect society, while indirectly critiquing the political and social ills of Tudor England. Containing thoughts on religious pluralism, a welfare state, and women's rights, More's book was well ahead of its time, already hinting at later theories on communism and capitalism centuries before Karl Marx, Friedrich Engles, and Adam Smith.